DS tests

[MariaIsabella]

Hello everyone. Just want to hear your thoughts on having Down's Syndrome tests. I am 37 ( almost 38 ) and know the risk of my baby having DS is higher than if I was 5-10 years younger. Believe NHS does a scan at 12 weeks? But what about the Hormony Blood test you can do at 10 weeks?

Just want to hear your thoughts and what you are going to do. xx

 

[andreatav]

I opted to not have the test, whatever the result I would have ended up worrying. But I am 26 (just) xx

 

[kaz1983]

We had the nuchal tests an bloods furst time round i was 29 then but this time at 32 we deciddd not to have them as it wouldnt change anything and as consultant told me its not a definite answer unless u have an amnio an i wasnt prepared for to go thru that due to the risks xx

 

[Lolie14]

It tests for other chromosome syndromes too, not just DS. We had the test - we decided it wouldn't affect the outcome but we wanted to be prepared.

 

[MariaIsabella]

Thanks!

Lolie14, did you have the blood test ( expensive and not on the NHS? )?

 

[baby number 2]

Having the NT and blood tests can be quite stressful as the answers are not definitive. I came back as high risk with my first baby (at 27) and stressed the whole way through my pregnancy. He was born without any chromosome abnormalities. I am 32 now and have the NT booked for January but am still deciding whether or not to do it. If you can afford it then I would suggest going for harmony for piece of mind. It's a shame the NHS don't do it, as all the health care professionals I've spoken to are strongly in favour of it.

 

[RoisinC]

Hi Maria I'm 39 and considered the harmony one buy it's v expensive - £400 in Belfast. I didn't have any tests with any of my 3 previous pregnancies. I think I've ruled the harmony test out because of cost but could still change my mind lol. I'm seeing midwife tmw so will chat it over with her x

 

[Lou1103]

I thought the nhs did the blood test? They asked me if i consented?
I said i would have bloods but no to amnio xxx

 

[sammielou]

Baby wouldn't cooperate at my first scan, so nt measurement could not be taken. I gave them blood at 15w, that will give a risk factor for downs. They call it the 'quad' test. I guess I had it because I'm hoping for low risk so I can largely forget about it. If it comes out high risk I'm not sure what I'll do. Pay for harmony test probably, as it is more accurate without being invasive like the next step the NHS offer.

It is worth remembering that even if you opt out of having the screening test, if they see anything of concern during a scan they will tell you.

I hate any kind of screening test for anything. The only time I imagine I might have cervical cancer is the days between a smear test and getting the all clear result. Ultimately though, personally for me - I worry far too much about the unknown. So I'll take any test they offer that doesn't risk harm.

 

[sammielou]

Lou1103, the nhs do offer a test for downs (and some other chromosomal abnormalities) for free. The Harmony test is relatively new though and only available privately. It is supposed to be more accurate (but like the nhs ones it is still a risk factor, not a yes/no answer).

 

[MariaIsabella]

Might wait for nhs.. Would get harmony results about same time as nhs scan so not sure i see the point? Why is harmony more accurate? Is it larger risk if getting high risk at nhs even though youre not? I dont want to do an abortion either way so not sure why i want the test

Thanks!

 

[baby number 2]

The harmony test is more complex as it actually looks at the baby's DNA in the mothers blood and identifies the likelihood of chromosomal abnormalities this way. In terms of 'picking up' a downs syndrome diagnosis it is reported to be 99% effective.

With the NHS tests, they combine certain levels of hormones and other things in the blood, with the results from the nuchal translucency test. I think they also take into account other things such as femur length and nasal bone length etc.. and add all these together to get the (in my opinion) rather shaky odds of you having a baby with Downs. There are also a high number of false 'positive' results which result in many women having unnecessary invasive tests such as CVS and Amnio.

You could have the NHS offered screening and if the results are considered high risk you cold then make a decision as to whether you wanted the Harmony test for peace of mind rather than an amnio, as the harmony poses no threat of miscarriage. As I said before, such a shame it is not routinely offered.

 

[umbongo]

I was dithering this time as didn't bother with the screening last time. I went for my scan yesterday and it wasn't quite big enough to do NT measurement so I said forget it. I wouldn't have CVS or Amnio so really if it gave me high risk I'd have to worry or get the harmony test which is really expensive. For me it would only give me info anyway,I wouldn't not have the baby.
Major problems will be picked up in the 20w scan usually so anything really problematic can be dealt with then (even if it's just planning ahead for treatment etc.)
I'm 38 so that wouldn't have gone in my favour for the risk factor.
It's all very personal though, so you have to go with what your partner and you and comfy with. The medical professionals seem very keen to push the screening!

 

[MariaIsabella]

thanks for all your replies. I am still not sure.. I believe I will get an nhs screening in about 1-2 weeks so might do that one but no Harmony since I want to relax and enjoy things now for a while. Even though my risks are higher they are still very small so not sure I want to worry. It is a difficult decision though.

Better in the old days when you didn't have all these choices